Henri Christophe
Encyclopedia
Henri Christophe (6 October 1767 – 8 October 1820) was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution
, winning independence from France in 1804. On 17 February 1807, after the creation of a separate nation in the north, Christophe was elected President
of the State of Haiti
. On 26 March 1811, he was proclaimed Henry I, King of Haïti. He is also known for constructing the Citadelle Laferrière
.
, the son of Christophe, a freeman, Christophe was brought to Saint Domingue as a slave in the northern region. In 1779 he may have served with the French Forces as a drummer boy in the American Revolution
in the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Dominigue, a regiment composed of gens de couleur
. They fought at the Siege of Savannah
.
As an adult, Christophe worked as a mason, sailor, stable hand, waiter, and billiard maker. He worked in and managed a hotel restaurant in Cap-Français
, the capital of the French colony of Saint-Domingue, where he became skilled at dealing with the grand blancs, as the wealthy white French planters were called. Such political skills also served him well when he became an officer in the military and leader in the country. He was said to have obtained his freedom as a young man, before the Slave Uprising of 1791. Sometime after he had settled in Haiti he brought his sister Marie there, where she married and had issue.
Beginning with the slave uprising of 1791, Christophe distinguished himself in the Haïtian Revolution
and quickly rose to be an officer. He fought for years with Toussaint Louverture in the north, helping defeat the French, the Spanish, British, and finally French national troops. By 1802 he was a general under Toussaint Louverture.
In 1806 Christophe was aware of a plot to kill Dessalines; seeing an opportunity to seize power for himself, he did not warn the self-proclaimed Emperor. The plot was said to involve Alexandre Pétion
, a competing "gens de couleur
"; as a half-white, Pétion held a weak position among the majority of black leaders and population and possibly viewed assassination as the surest way of removing Dessalines. However, this allegation has not been proven; other sources clear Pétion's name from the plot and say that he has been tied to it only on the basis of such conjectures. In any case, Dessalines was assassinated, and Christophe was elected to the newly created position of president, but without real powers.
of the armies of land and sea of the State of Haïti). Pétion became President of the "Republic of Haïti" in the south backed by General Boyer who had control of the southern armies.
In 1811 Henry made the northern state of Haïti a kingdom
, and was ordained King by Arch Bishop of Milot Corneil Breuil. The edict of 1 April 1811 gave his full title as
.
Christophe named his legitimate son, Jacques-Victor Henry
, heir apparent with the title Prince Royal of Haïti. Even in documents written in French
, the king's name was usually given an English
spelling. He had another son who was a colonel in his army.
Christophe built for his own use six châteaux, eight palaces and the massive Citadelle Laferrière
, still considered one of the wonders of the era. Nine years later, at the end of his monarchy, he had increased the number of designated nobility from the original 87 to 134.
Politically, in the North, Christophe was caught between reinforcing a version of the slave plantation system in an attempt to increase agricultural production, or handing out the plantation land for peasant cultivation (the approach taken by Alexandre Petion
in the South). King Henry took the route of enforcing corvee
plantation work on the population in lieu of taxes alongside his massive building projects. As a result, Northern Haiti during his reign was despotic but relatively wealthy. He preferred trading with English merchants and American merchants than both French and Spanish merchants which did not recognize Haiti as independent country, he ordered that extra Africans be brought to Haiti to work on his vast projects instead of being traded to other Caribbean countries where they would be held as slaves. As a result, numerous Africans who were originally brought by the French as slaves came to Haiti. He made an agreement with Britain that Haiti would not be threat to their Caribbean colonies in return that the British Navy would warn the Kingdom of Haiti of any imminent attack from French troops, in 1807 the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade of 1807 which did not outlaw slavery, but abolishing the importation of African slaves in British territory, because of this increased bilateral trade, he had gathered an enormous sum of British pounds for his treasury. By contrast, Petion's Southern Haiti became much poorer because the land-share destroyed agricultural productivity.
Christophe's kingship was modelled in part on the enlightened absolutism
of Frederick the Great. Thomas Clarkson
, the English slave abolitionist, held a long written correspondence with Christophe which gives insights into his philosophy and style of government (Griggs and Prator). The king sought an education for his children along the lines of the princelings of Enlightenment Europe.
. In addition, his realm was constantly challenged by that of the South, which was ruled by gens de couleur. Toward the end of Christophe's reign, public sentiment was sharply against what many perceived to be his feudal policies, which he intended to develop the country. Ill and infirm at age fifty-three, King Henry shot himself with a silver bullet rather than face the possibility of a coup. He was buried within the Citadelle Laferriere
.
Pierre Nord Alexis
, President of Haiti from 1902–1908, was Christophe's grandson.
Michèle Bennett Duvalier
, First Lady of Haiti from 1980 to 1986, was Christophe's great-great-great-granddaughter.
Haitian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
, winning independence from France in 1804. On 17 February 1807, after the creation of a separate nation in the north, Christophe was elected President
President of Haiti
The President of the Republic of Haiti is the head of state of Haiti. Executive power in Haiti is divided between the president and the government headed by the Prime Minister of Haiti...
of the State of Haiti
State of Haiti
The State of Haiti was the name of the state in northern Haiti. It was created on October 17, 1806 following the overthrow of the Empire of Haiti following the assassination of Emperor Jacques I...
. On 26 March 1811, he was proclaimed Henry I, King of Haïti. He is also known for constructing the Citadelle Laferrière
Citadelle Laferrière
The Citadelle Laferrière or, Citadelle Henry Christophe, or simply the Citadelle , is a large mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti, approximately south of the city of Cap-Haïtien and five miles uphill from the town of Milot...
.
Early life
Born Christopher Henry probably in GrenadaGrenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, the son of Christophe, a freeman, Christophe was brought to Saint Domingue as a slave in the northern region. In 1779 he may have served with the French Forces as a drummer boy in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
in the Chasseurs-Volontaires de Saint-Dominigue, a regiment composed of gens de couleur
Gens de couleur
Gens de couleur is a French term meaning "people of color." The term was commonly used in France's West Indian colonies prior to the abolition of slavery, where it was a short form of gens de couleur libres ....
. They fought at the Siege of Savannah
Siege of Savannah
The Siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell. The siege itself consisted of a joint...
.
As an adult, Christophe worked as a mason, sailor, stable hand, waiter, and billiard maker. He worked in and managed a hotel restaurant in Cap-Français
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
, the capital of the French colony of Saint-Domingue, where he became skilled at dealing with the grand blancs, as the wealthy white French planters were called. Such political skills also served him well when he became an officer in the military and leader in the country. He was said to have obtained his freedom as a young man, before the Slave Uprising of 1791. Sometime after he had settled in Haiti he brought his sister Marie there, where she married and had issue.
Beginning with the slave uprising of 1791, Christophe distinguished himself in the Haïtian Revolution
Haïtian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
and quickly rose to be an officer. He fought for years with Toussaint Louverture in the north, helping defeat the French, the Spanish, British, and finally French national troops. By 1802 he was a general under Toussaint Louverture.
Independent Haiti
After the French deported Toussaint Louverture to France, and fighting continued under Rochambeau, Jean Jacques Dessalines recognized they wanted to reenslave the blacks. He led the fight to defeat French forces. As leader, Dessalines declared Saint-Domingue's independence and the new name of Haiti in 1804.In 1806 Christophe was aware of a plot to kill Dessalines; seeing an opportunity to seize power for himself, he did not warn the self-proclaimed Emperor. The plot was said to involve Alexandre Pétion
Alexandre Pétion
Alexandre Sabès Pétion was President of the Republic of Haiti from 1806 until his death. He is considered as one of Haiti's founding fathers, together with Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his rival Henri Christophe.-Early life:Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince to a Haitian...
, a competing "gens de couleur
Gens de couleur
Gens de couleur is a French term meaning "people of color." The term was commonly used in France's West Indian colonies prior to the abolition of slavery, where it was a short form of gens de couleur libres ....
"; as a half-white, Pétion held a weak position among the majority of black leaders and population and possibly viewed assassination as the surest way of removing Dessalines. However, this allegation has not been proven; other sources clear Pétion's name from the plot and say that he has been tied to it only on the basis of such conjectures. In any case, Dessalines was assassinated, and Christophe was elected to the newly created position of president, but without real powers.
State and kingdom of Haiti
Feeling insulted, Christophe retreated with his followers to the Plaine du Nord and created a separate government there. Christophe had suspected that he would be next to be assassinated. In 1807 Christophe declared himself président et généralissime des forces de terre et de mer de l'État d'Haïti (English: President and GeneralissimoGeneralissimo
Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.-Usage:...
of the armies of land and sea of the State of Haïti). Pétion became President of the "Republic of Haïti" in the south backed by General Boyer who had control of the southern armies.
In 1811 Henry made the northern state of Haïti a kingdom
Kingdom of Haiti
The Kingdom of Haiti was the state established by Henri Christophe on March 28, 1811 when he was proclaimed King Henri I having previously ruled as president. This was Haiti's second attempt at monarchal rule as Jean-Jacques Dessalines had previously ruled over the Empire of Haiti...
, and was ordained King by Arch Bishop of Milot Corneil Breuil. The edict of 1 April 1811 gave his full title as
Henri, par la grâce de Dieu et la Loi constitutionelle de l'État Roi d'Haïti, Souverain des Îles de la Tortue, Gonâve, et autres îles adjacentes, Destructeur de la tyrannie, Régénérateur et bienfaiteur de la nation haïtienne, Créateur de ses institutiones morales, politiques et guerrières, Premier monarque couronné du Nouveau-Monde, Défenseur de la foi, Fondateur de l'ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Henri.
Henry, by the grace of God and constitutional law of the state, King of Haiti, Sovereign of Tortuga, GonâveHe renamed Cap Français Cap-Henri. It is now called Cap-HaïtienGonâve IslandGonâve Island is an island of Haiti located to the west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve. It is the largest of the Hispaniolan satellite islands, situated off the mainland...
, and other adjacent islands, Destroyer of tyranny, Regenerator and Benefactor of the Haïtian nation, Creator of her moral, political, and martial institutions, First crowned monarch of the New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, Defender of the faith, Founder of the Royal Military Order of Saint Henry.
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
.
Christophe named his legitimate son, Jacques-Victor Henry
Jacques-Victor Henry, Prince Royal of Haiti
Prince Jacques-Victor Henry was the heir apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Haiti.He was the youngest child of Henri Christophe, then a general in the Haitian Army, by his wife Marie-Louise Coidavid. His father became President of the state of Haiti in 1807, and on March 26, 1811 he was...
, heir apparent with the title Prince Royal of Haïti. Even in documents written in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, the king's name was usually given an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
spelling. He had another son who was a colonel in his army.
Christophe built for his own use six châteaux, eight palaces and the massive Citadelle Laferrière
Citadelle Laferrière
The Citadelle Laferrière or, Citadelle Henry Christophe, or simply the Citadelle , is a large mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti, approximately south of the city of Cap-Haïtien and five miles uphill from the town of Milot...
, still considered one of the wonders of the era. Nine years later, at the end of his monarchy, he had increased the number of designated nobility from the original 87 to 134.
Politically, in the North, Christophe was caught between reinforcing a version of the slave plantation system in an attempt to increase agricultural production, or handing out the plantation land for peasant cultivation (the approach taken by Alexandre Petion
Alexandre Pétion
Alexandre Sabès Pétion was President of the Republic of Haiti from 1806 until his death. He is considered as one of Haiti's founding fathers, together with Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and his rival Henri Christophe.-Early life:Pétion was born in Port-au-Prince to a Haitian...
in the South). King Henry took the route of enforcing corvee
Corvée
Corvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
plantation work on the population in lieu of taxes alongside his massive building projects. As a result, Northern Haiti during his reign was despotic but relatively wealthy. He preferred trading with English merchants and American merchants than both French and Spanish merchants which did not recognize Haiti as independent country, he ordered that extra Africans be brought to Haiti to work on his vast projects instead of being traded to other Caribbean countries where they would be held as slaves. As a result, numerous Africans who were originally brought by the French as slaves came to Haiti. He made an agreement with Britain that Haiti would not be threat to their Caribbean colonies in return that the British Navy would warn the Kingdom of Haiti of any imminent attack from French troops, in 1807 the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade of 1807 which did not outlaw slavery, but abolishing the importation of African slaves in British territory, because of this increased bilateral trade, he had gathered an enormous sum of British pounds for his treasury. By contrast, Petion's Southern Haiti became much poorer because the land-share destroyed agricultural productivity.
Nobility and heraldry
One of Christophe's first acts as king was to create a Haïtian Peerage, with four princes, seven dukes, 22 counts, 40 barons and 14 chevaliers. Christophe also founded a College of Arms to provide armorial bearings to the newly ennobled.Christophe's kingship was modelled in part on the enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism is a form of absolute monarchy or despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their territories...
of Frederick the Great. Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
, the English slave abolitionist, held a long written correspondence with Christophe which gives insights into his philosophy and style of government (Griggs and Prator). The king sought an education for his children along the lines of the princelings of Enlightenment Europe.
End of reign
Despite his efforts to promote education and establish a legal system called the Code Henry, King Henri was an unpopular autocratic monarchMonarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
. In addition, his realm was constantly challenged by that of the South, which was ruled by gens de couleur. Toward the end of Christophe's reign, public sentiment was sharply against what many perceived to be his feudal policies, which he intended to develop the country. Ill and infirm at age fifty-three, King Henry shot himself with a silver bullet rather than face the possibility of a coup. He was buried within the Citadelle Laferriere
Citadelle Laferrière
The Citadelle Laferrière or, Citadelle Henry Christophe, or simply the Citadelle , is a large mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti, approximately south of the city of Cap-Haïtien and five miles uphill from the town of Milot...
.
Pierre Nord Alexis
Pierre Nord Alexis
Pierre Nord Alexis was President of Haiti from December 21, 1902 to December 2, 1908. He was son of Nord Alexis, a high-ranking official in the regime of Henry Christophe, and Blézine Georges, Christophe's illegitimate daughter. Alexis joined the army in the 1830s, serving President Jean-Louis...
, President of Haiti from 1902–1908, was Christophe's grandson.
Michèle Bennett Duvalier
Michèle Bennett
Michèle Bennett is the ex-wife of former President for Life of Haiti, Jean-Claude Duvalier. From 1980 to 1986 she was the First Lady of Haiti. She fled to exile in France with her deposed husband aboard a U.S. Air Force plane and has remained there since...
, First Lady of Haiti from 1980 to 1986, was Christophe's great-great-great-granddaughter.
Cultural representations
- La Mort du Roi Christophe. Note présentée par la noblesse d'Haïti aux trois grands alliés, a 1820 chanson written by Pierre-Jean de BérangerPierre-Jean de BérangerPierre-Jean de Béranger was a prolific French poet and chansonnier , who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity in the decades following his death...
. - Drums of Destiny, novel written by Peter Bourne and published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in New York in 1946.
- The Kingdom of this WorldThe Kingdom of this WorldThe Kingdom of This World is a novella by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier, published in 1949 in his native Spanish and first translated into English in 1957. A work of historical fiction, it tells the story of Haiti before, during, and after the Haitian Revolution as seen by its central character,...
novel by Alejo Carpentier, first published in Spanish in 1949 in Mexico DF as El Reino de Este Mundo. - Henri Christophe: A Chronicle in Seven ScenesHenri Christophe: A Chronicle in Seven ScenesHenri Christophe: A Chronicle in Seven Scenes is a play by Derek Walcott. It was first published in 1950.It is an historical play about king Henri Christophe of Haiti, from 1804 to 1820....
, a play by Derek WalcottDerek WalcottDerek Alton Walcott, OBE OCC is a Saint Lucian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992 and the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2011 for White Egrets. His works include the Homeric epic Omeros...
. - La Tragédie du Roi Christophe, a 1963 play written by MartinicanMartiniqueMartinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
Aimé CésaireAimé CésaireAimé Fernand David Césaire was a French poet, author and politician from Martinique. He was "one of the founders of the négritude movement in Francophone literature".-Student, educator, and poet:...
. - Henry Christophe was also the inspiration for Eugene O'NeillEugene O'NeillEugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's fictional character The Emperor JonesThe Emperor JonesThe Emperor Jones is a 1920 play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill which tells the tale of Brutus Jones, an African-American man who kills a man, goes to prison, escapes to a Caribbean island, and sets himself up as emperor...